Hitobito is an open-source web application for associations, clubs, and organizations to manage complex group hierarchies, members, events, courses, mailings, and more efficiently.

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🚀 Overview

Hitobito is a powerful open-source platform designed to streamline the administration of non-profits, associations, federations, and communities with intricate organizational structures. It handles everything from member management and role assignments to event registrations, course scheduling, waitlists, and qualification tracking, all accessible via web and mobile.

The project solves the problem of outdated, inflexible tools that struggle with federated hierarchies, volunteer-driven operations, and scaling member bases—common pain points for clubs, sports leagues, youth groups, and political organizations. It's built for Swiss associations like scouts (Pfadibewegung, CEVI), music federations, and parties, but adaptable globally.

Developed by Hitobito AG, Puzzle ITC AG, and a vibrant community of users and contributors, it was created to enable faster, easier organization—'Organisieren. Schneller. Leichter.'—replacing spreadsheets and legacy systems with a modern, extensible solution used by over 4,000 organizations and 1.2 million members.

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✨ Key Features

• Complex Group Hierarchies: Customizable groups, roles, and permissions to mirror federal or distributed structures, with unlimited organizations and sub-groups.
• Member & Contact Management: Centralized admin of contacts, memberships, and roles; accessible from anywhere, including smartphones.
• Events & Courses: Digital sign-ups/abmeldungen, cross-course waitlists, custom application fields, and organization-specific qualifications.
• Communication Tools: Mailings, newsletters, and integrated messaging.
• Extensibility: Plugin system via Wagons for custom features like invoicing, inventory, or integrations.
• Optional: Upcoming plugins and API/OAuth/OpenID Connect for further integrations.

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🛠 Tech Stack

• Backend: Ruby on Rails, Wagons plugin framework
• Frontend: Haml, SCSS, JavaScript/CoffeeScript
• Database: PostgreSQL
• Auth: Custom with OAuth, OpenID Connect support
• Hosting: Docker for self-hosting, container platform (e.g., OpenShift) for cloud

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👥 Who Is This For?

This project is useful for:

• Associations and federations managing complex member hierarchies and events
• Volunteer-run clubs (sports, music, youth) needing digital tools for registrations and admin
• Non-profits and political groups seeking scalable, customizable management software

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📸 Screenshots / Demo

• Live demo: https://demo.hitobito.com
• GitHub: https://github.com/hitobito/hitobito

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🔥 Project Status

• 🟢 Actively building

Last updated: 2026-03-24

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❓ FAQ

Is this project free?

Freemium — Self-host gratis (open source, unlimited members), Cloud hosting CHF 110/month excl. VAT (full features, Swiss hosting), Custom solutions on request. (All tiers support unlimited members; self-host requires technical setup.)

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Is the source code available?

Yes — https://github.com/hitobito/hitobito (AGPL-3.0 license)

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Can I contribute?

Yes — Report issues, submit pull requests following CONTRIBUTING.md, join the community forum, or contribute via GitHub. Core improvements are reviewed by professional maintainers.

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📬 Contact & Links

• Website: https://hitobito.com
• GitHub: https://github.com/hitobito/hitobito
• Twitter/X: (not specified)
• Email: hitobito@puzzle.ch or via contact form

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